New Yahoo CEO orders telecommuter employees to work from office for better quality work

New Yahoo CEO orders telecommuter employees to work from office for better quality work

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Last Updated: Tue, Feb 26, 2013 06:36 hrs

The relatively new CEO of Yahoo, Marissa Mayer, has decided she wants her employees showing up to the offices from June, and not just telecommuting from home all the time.

According to All Things D's Kara Swisher, in an internal memo, she said that 'to become the absolute best place to work, communication and collaboration will be important, so we need to be working side-by-side.

The memo added that 'it is critical that we are all present in our offices. Some of the best decisions and insights come from hallway and cafeteria discussions, meeting new people, and impromptu team meetings. Speed and quality are often sacrificed when we work from home,' the Huffington Post reports.

Employees expressed 'strong anger' over the policy, many of whom joined the company in part because of the flexibility to work from home that Yahoo previously provided.

But don't just assume that telecommuting, or working remotely, or whatever you want to call it, comes from a place of laziness. A number of studies have proven quite the opposite:

According to the report, a Stanford study, conveniently released on the same day as Yahoo's memo, reported that call center employees increased their performance by 13 percent when working from home.

They also reported 'improved work satisfaction and experienced less turnover'.

Another University of Texas at Austin study from late last year found that those people who work from home 'add five to seven hours to their workweek compared with those who work exclusively at the office'.

A Bureau of Labor Statistics study, also from last year, reported that working remotely 'seems to boost productivity, decrease absenteeism', that means missing work, 'and increase retention'.

According to the report, all in all, it appears working from home is a bit of mixed bag for employee and employer alike.

On the one hand there is enhanced productivity, more work satisfaction, less turnover, but on the other, one has to work for longer hours, more weekend obligations, less chance of impressing the boss, the report added. (ANI)